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When do you start timing them?!

Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 12:20 pm
by Manana
My son does relatively well in the Bond/VR papers that we've been doing so far (75-85%), but thus far, they are untimed!

When would you start timing them; he hates the thought of this. Is this something to introduce gradually or not even think about yet? He's in Y5-sitting the 11+ next November.

Re: When do you start timing them?!

Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 12:29 pm
by scarlett
My son is the same age as yours and we're working through the Bond books too. I hadn't timed him so far, as with DS1 I made sure he knew everything inside out and then started timing in May ( the Kent Test is September) However, I did keep an eye on how long he was taking and he didn't have a problem with timings as he just got on with it. Ds2 is completely different and will gaze into space , and then panic if I tell him he's taken too long....so I think with him I'm going to start introducing timed papers.He has done a few bits and pieces on a website which is timed and completely freaked out the first time...I had a go on the verbal reasoning test which was 10 questions in 6 minutes, so not really that bad , and I freaked out too ! I just told him to stay calm and I think with practice they learn to recognise themselves if they are taking too long over a question. Have you tried the 10 minute bond test ? They would be a gentle start ?

Just remembered, with DS1 I gave him a timed paper, but let him finish it after the buzzer had sounded...he quite liked seeing how he was able to complete more and more questions in the allotted time.

Re: When do you start timing them?!

Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 12:57 pm
by First-timer
Teachermum76, my DD is the same age as your DS and I don't always time her. When I have done, timing hasn't been a problem so I'll probably be fairly relaxed about it until much closer to the exam. You could start off by timing him without him knowing - just to give yourself an idea as to whether it is an issue. It's more important at this stage that they work through the paper as best they can. Obviously when you run full mocks you'll adhere to the prescribed timings but that's a long way off. If you haven't been timing him, he may not even realise that the exam is time limited. He may pleasantly surprise you once you set time limits.

My DS ran out of time in the VR paper despite usually having enough time to do practice papers twice over. He still got a place so it's not the end of the world if they run out of time. I like the above idea about making it about a personal best and getting a bit more done each time.